Starkey Halo: Made for iPhone Hearing Aid

My previous post on the ReSound LiNX Made for iPhone hearing aid was very popular among our readers, so I thought I’d do a write-up on the Starkey Halo as well. This will be a general overview of the product, what I have learned about it and a summary of the features which set it apart from other hearing aids in the Starkey line-up and all other hearing aids in the world. This hearing aid has not been out very long and reviews are scarce, so if you have any experience with it, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this post.

At the end of February 2014, ReSound introduced the LiNX, which was the first and highly anticipated Made for iPhone hearing aid to hit the market. The LiNX has been met with a lot of praise- I’ve read very little in way of negative reviews. The release of the LiNX got a lot of attention- there were rumors of it over 12 months before it was introduced to the market. Working quietly in the background however, was Starkey Hearing Technologies, bringing their first Made for iPhone hearing aid to market on March 31st, 2014. Several other hearing aid manufacturers are said to be working on their own Made for iPhone hearing aids, which will be probably be released before the end of 2015.

A general overview of the Starkey Halo & its features

Starkey Halo

The Starkey Halo is built on the already successful BluWave 3.0 operating system, an operating system designed to maximize performance in a variety of challenging listening environments. This operating system has been around for a few generations of products now. It’s tried and true, and very successful. The foundation of the Starkey Halo is solid and ensures that the aid will never whistle, will perform well in background noise, and will be a discrete and comfortable fit. All of that is very important, but many manufacturers can promise the same things- so let’s look at what really separates this aid and makes it a truly best in class product. Here is a quick look at what the Halo promises:

Even if you are an experienced hearing aid wearer, some of these concepts may be new to you, so let’s run down them one by one. First of all, streaming calls from your smart phone is not a new concept, but streaming them directly to your iPhone without using an intermediary device is a new concept. Until now, if you wanted to do this you’d have to spend nearly $900 for the Surflink Mobile device, which you would pair with your iPhone, and would then have to carry with you everywhere you went. The Surflink Mobile is an amazing accessory, but it’s a downright nuisance to have to carry one more device with you everywhere you go. The Starkey Halo and the ReSound LiNX are the only two products on the market which allow for this streaming without an intermediary device.

Using your iPhone as remote control for your hearing aids is also not a new concept. Starkey has had apps that have been able to do this for years (and so have other manufacturers), but the way in which this new remote control functions is a new concept and is certainly remarkable. Using the companion app TruLink which you can download for free in the App Store, you have a ton of flexibility in adjusting your hearing aids. You can make adjustments to the bass, treble, and volume. While this may not seem like a lot, being able to adjust all of these things independently makes it a heck of a lot easier to get your hearing aids sounding like they should in a number of different environments.

TruLink App

Then, once you’ve made those adjustments, you can save those settings and assign them a specific memory inside the hearing aid. There is room for 20 memories (counting the 4 your hearing provider puts in by default). Then, you can assign those memories to automatically activate whenever you are back at the location at which you originally “tagged” that setting. So the GPS from your iPhone knows where you are, and when to adjust your hearing aids based on your tagged locations and the adjustments you have made in the past. So if you’re at a noisy restaurant and can’t hear clearly, it’s as simple as pulling out your iPhone, opening your TruLink app, using the remote so the hearing aids sound better, and then saving that memory. Now, next time you go back to that restaurant, your aids will automatically switch over to that setting which you designated earlier. All of this can be done within 10 seconds.

Also new is the “find my hearing aids” feature, which basically allows you to play a game of “hot or cold” when searching for your hearing aids. As you get closer to your hearing aids, graphical bars on the iPhone screen enlarge to let you know you are “warmer.” Lastly, the remote microphone feature can be very helpful in a variety of challenging listening environments. If the concept of a remote microphone is new to you, it’s as simple as imagining yourself holding a microphone and placing it right next to things you want to hear perfectly. The sound from the microphone is streamed directly in to your hearing aids. So if you’re in a group conversation like a board meeting for example, you could place the iPhone in the middle of the conference room to enhance the clarity of speech from 360 degrees. To see more of the amazing capabilities of the TruLink App, visit this site.

The Starkey Halo utilizes a new, sleek design, and is powered by a size 13 battery which is reported to give users 7-9 days of battery life even with heavy streaming. Since the size 13 battery is bigger than the size 312 that the LiNX use, the Starkey is a slightly bigger hearing aid, but the battery life will be extended a few days over the LiNX, so it’s a net positive in my opinion. The Halo does not have on-board controls like volume or memory buttons, so you’ll have to use your iPhone to make all adjustments. It is also not compatible with any of the Surflink accessories. The Starkey Halo is available in 3 technology levels, the i70, i90, and i110- for social, active, and vibrant lifestyles. This aid can be worn open-fit mild to moderate losses, but it can also be fit with Starkey’s amazing Absolute Power molds for severe to profound losses. Starkey is said to be working on an Android version at the moment, and they are also working on getting this technology in to smaller (potentially invisible) hearing aids within the next few years.

Since this hearing aid is so new, there is very little feedback on it at this point. In the next few weeks I would expect reviews to be trickling in here, so check back often and see what people have to say about it!

If you’d like a free phone consultation with a licensed hearing provider, please feel free to call us at 800-731-6794.

Yeah, they are very similar products with very similar functionality and companion apps. One of the few differences I’ve seen so far is that the ReSound LiNX works with ReSound accessories, so you can stream the TV wirelessly, whereas the Halo does not work with any of the SurfLink accessories.

I don’t know if this blog post will notify you of my post. I read a few of your posts on Quora and am very interested since you are a part of ZipHearing if you have any experience with Widex Beyond 330. I’ve had a pair with lots of connectivity problems. I often need to open and close the battery door to get calls to stream through both aids. The voice commands for different programs and low battery work intermittently. There is distortion on calls that start to run 30 minutes or longer (I use this for business calls). I’ve been told I have to buy a ComDex to overcome this issue and that depletes some of the volume.

How does the Widex compare with ReSound on connectivity with iPhone? I’m thinking of starting over with a new provider.

Jeff, thanks for the great blog. I spent a few hours today googling and researching the differences between Resound Linx and the Starkey Halo. So far they both look like excellent devices. Both seem to have a 2.4 Ghz platform, water resistant coating, and a well designed iPhone app. Those are important features for me.
It seems Resound’s TV streamer is better integrated as you can answer calls while streaming TV. I’m waiting for my audi to confirm how this will work with Halo but it seems Starkey may need to do some work on this. Do you know?
Also, I’m sure both our awesome but I’m really looking for the better device, as I’m sure many others are also. When you shell out over $3k on a hearing aid you don’t want to get the inferior model. Any additional feedback you can provide would help. Thanks!

I haven’t fit the LiNX yet, but I have now fit the Halo. It is true, the Halo cannot stream television, it doesn’t work with Surflink accessories. What’s also true is that if you have an iPhone 4 or 4s, steaming with the Halo only works in one ear, not both. Not sure if that’s the case with the LiNX but that’s something to think about. I honestly can’t tell you which one is the better aid yet since I haven’t fit enough of each, but I am doing a follow up post next week with the outcomes of 2 fitting sessions and the patients’ responses.

Nice review Jeff, its one of the few I have been able to find online at the moment. I am looking forward to hearing your follow-up ASAP as I am currently returning a set of Starkey 3 Series aids and going to purchase the Linx 9 or Halo i110. I have an appointment on 4/21. I am curious to see what the difference between them are. A few differences that I have noticed so far are:

The halo looks to be slightly fatter than the Linx and maybe slightly bigger to accomodate the size 13 battery, this may be a issue for those wanting to conceal the aid. The halo does not have buttons on it for mode or volume and the Linx does I see this as more of a convenience issue if your phone is not nearby or if you forget it. From what I understand the Linx only streams audio to the hearing aids not from them so when using the phone one must hold the phone near the mouth, the Halo suposiby can stream both ways. Linx does not play notification, text, or ringtones in the aids i am told by Starkey that the Halo does. The linx can use an external microphone to clip on a speaker at a conference where the starkey only supports the Iphone microphone.

Also I was wondering where the microphone is on the Linx. My wife wears aids and she is unable to wear her hair down due to the interfearance created by the hair rubbing across the top of the microphones, I have not been able to find a work around for this yet. Finally, I am wondering does the aid automatically switch to the Streaming mode when a call is recieved? I know with Surflink my wife says the quality is much better when in the Streaming mode, but she has to manually swap to and from that mode for every call. Any info would be helpful!!

Thanks for the kind words, I am fitting the Halos to my second client tomorrow, so an update will follow very shortly once I can make some more generalizations and observations.
As far as the Halo being a bit bigger- you are right, it is, but concealing it isn’t an issue, it hides just as well as a RIC with a size 10 battery- there is plenty of room behind the ear
fortunately. I agree with your comment about the lack of onboard controls and imagine that will be released in a 2nd or 3rd gen product. The Halo can stream both ways, but you’re
still going to get the best results by holding the phone close to your mouth- your callers will get a better sound quality and will appreciate it.

The mics on the LiNX are right where you would expect them to be, and the mic interference is certainly not a new issue- you’re going to have that problem with the Halos as well, usually men will cut their hair shorter in this area to prevent that interference, but with women you have to find a creative solution or just live with it. I have thought that something like the could help with this problem, but have never actually tried it.

Lastly, I am not sure about that auto-switch to streaming mode on the Halo, I will ask Starkey and get back to you. What I know is whatever it does do, sound quality
was not an issue at all- it was perfect when I tried it.

Im also in the same boat and committed to purchase either the Linx or Halo. I had put off purchasing for a year waiting for the technology to catch up. I was excited about the streaming, however I have heard that the sound of music is not great, I assume this will be similar in both products ? I also work with a wireless plantronics headset much of the day, is there anyway to stream that to the hearing aids or will I need to remove the aid and continue to use the headset ?

I was able to demo the Halo this morning, I was surprised the app that allows adjustment to treble/bass and soft/loud had very little impact on the listening experience. Hoping to demo the lynx as well but none of the centers I went to allow demo’s and insist you buy the hearing aids giving a 45-60 days where they can be returned

I can’t speak to the quality of streaming in the LiNX, I haven’t fit it yet but hope to soon. As far as your headset, the Halos will not integrate with the headset. With regards to your demo, I think that you would find that if you demo’d them in different environments you would notice more difference once adjusting the bass/treble and volume. I can’t believe the centers wouldn’t let you demo the LiNX! I wouldn’t buy from them- that is not a sign of good things to come. The policies of some providers astonishes me sometimes.

Im 3 weeks into my Halo vs Linx demo and wanted to provide my perception of the products. Keep in mind Im a new hearing aid user, both units are teh upper end of the models, and my hearing loss is the upper frequency ranges in both ears. My largest concern is hearing in restaurant settings when entertaining clients. Niether the Starkey or Resound met my expectations in helping my hearing in those situations, If I had to choose which one performed better for noisy rooms I would have to give the nudge to Starkey by a hair. Again I think they both failed at meeting my expectations, so my expecatations were most likely unrealistic for the products that are currently on the market.

Overall sound qaulity of hearing aid from my perspective goes to Resound. It sounded more natural sound and less produced sound when I turned up the hearing aids. I also tested in music mode listing to high end audio (Sunfire and Martin Logans), the Resound’s did a great job, the Starkey did not provide the same experience and took away from my listening pleasure where teh Resounds seemed to blend in and add to my high frequency loss.

Streaming is interesting in both units, both have to pair with Iphone which has issues if not paired correctly. Overall it takes the resound longer to connect up with streaming incoming phone call or music, not sure if there is extra handshaking going on between the iphone and REsound in the streaming function but it is considerable delay vs the Starkey doesnt have this delay. On the other end, the qaulity of sound being streamed is better with the resound, both from a phone call and music perspective. So even though it takes longer to hook up, its better sound. Neither units will replace earbuds if you care about the qaulity, Resounds I would listen too sometimes, Starkey I wouldnt bother streaming the music as seems more distorted, a bit tinny, and assume sampling rate or processer speed is less do the more of a muddy sound in the music played.

Size and battery is perhaps the biggest difference. Resounds are much smaller and tiny battery which is 2-3 days, Starkey larger with battery lasting 6-7 days. Both are small enough to hide behind the ear, I have small ears and wear glasses making the Resound a better choice for me.

Im going with the Resound Linx mostly do to overall sound qaulity, streaming and size also added into my decision. The bad is battery life.

The apps are simular, Starkey has nice feedback on battery life and you can rename locations. THe bass and trebble setting are the nice on both, although it takes longer on teh Starkey app to set this up where as the resound has simple bass and trebble adjusters. Starkey has a great feature to disable hearing aid volume when streaming is selected, where on the resound you need to turn down your hearing aids to enjoy the streaming without additional amplification of your surroundings. I would judge the apps fairly eqaul.

Hope this helps all those going through the same decision process, always interested in others perception

Hi Rob, great post as I am scheduled for a first ever fitting tomorrow. Been tested and putting off getting aids for years. I have an iPhone 4s and I’m ready to finally hear the TV, esp. Person of Interest, John always wishers when he talks! My MD Audio person will let me try out each, Linx and Halo, and I will post my experience the end of the month. I have the same issues you do with group hearing. Rob can you tell me your experience with TV streaming? Also, I play the piano and wonder if I can shut out other instruments with either unit.
thanks again for the post.
frank

Posted by Doug on 05/15/2014 at 6:56 pm | |

Frank,
You asked:
…can you tell me your experience with TV streaming? Also, I play the piano and wonder if I can shut out other instruments with either unit.

I have been wearing the Resound Linx hearing aids for about a six weeks. I suspect that both the Halo and Linx units are similar in operating as classic hearing aids, and struggling to remap the high frequency ambient sounds that I can no longer hear down to the highest frequency left for my ears, and yes noisy restaurants are pretty much a joke. And I now hear shopping carts in parking lots, and my dog’s toenails when he runs across the tile floor, and the heater fan running in the car, and frankly, I really didn’t miss not hearing any of those noises. But what sets the Linx apart from other hearing aids, is their audio streamer that can connect to your TV, or your 5.1 Dolby movie surround system, or what ever other digital audio source you would like to pipe directly into your ears.

Resound sells an “audio” streaming device they call their Resound Unite TV streamer 2. It’s a $300 item. It streams any sound source you plug into it using either an optical cable, or an audio coax cable, or a pair of RCA jacks. If your piano has it’s own audio out connection, you could stream just the piano’s sound, in stereo to your Resound Linx units. As was said by others, when listening to sound streamed directly to the Linx units, you are best to turn down, or even mute the sound slider on your iPhone app to kill the ambient sound that they’re also feeding to your ears from their own microphones. Then it’s just you and your piano.

Lastly, in evaluating the quality of the sound, using their software, your audiologist(s) can adjust the individual points of frequency response for each of your hearing aids such that your hearing aids deliver both the volume level and the “quality” of sound you desire for each device that can stream audio to them by Bluetooth, as well as that delivered by their own microphones. This takes repeat visits to get it right. The Resound Linx can accept sound from your iPhone 5 or 5s, (time to update that 4s), as well as up to three combinations of separate TV streamer 2(s), or Resound’s remotely powered streaming microphone units. Their remote mic(s) might also be a very nice feature for a musician. You could imaginable select from three separate audio cables or powered mic(s) while playing your piano, all from the app on your iPhone.

As I understand it, Starkey’s Halo does not offer a Bluetooth audio streaming device at this time. I had the audiologist boost the response in the base and mid range levels, even though my hearing loss in these areas is not severe, and now the quality of sound streamed to them by the Bluetooth devices is vastly better. I imagine that the sound tuning can be done to both Halos and Linxs alike, but the availability of the Resound “TV” streamers is the feature that made my decision. And you should be advised that Kirkland 312 batteries are 25 cents each at Cosco on a 40 each blister card. That makes battery cost a non issue.

I’ll also hope that Resound will tweak their iPhone app, as it is a buggy affair. My Ford CMax can interfere badly when it tries to send a phone call from my iPhone to the car’s speakers while the Resound app is also trying to send it to the hearing aids. We’re living with version 1 software I think.

Sorry to be so long winded, but the details of these new gadgets has been much more involved than I had ever imagined.
Doug

Posted by Matt on 05/15/2014 at 7:17 pm | |

Doug that is singularly the most helpful review I have read in months. Thank you.

Posted by frank on 05/16/2014 at 12:25 pm | |

Well, I had my fitting today and the DrA ordered both the Linx and Halo. She told me that the 2 levels of Linx, middle and top end, were very different in the number of channels offered. I want to try the top end and that’s what is ordered. I was told they, Linx, cost about $6 grand about the same as the Halo. However I just got home and she called to tell that in fact the new price for the top Linx is now $7 grand. HS. Lets see what happens when they come in on the 27th.
Soon to be broke, frank

Thanks for the info Rob. I’m off to my first appointment now. After that I need to wait since they will be ordered and that takes a few weeks. Funny, I’ve sent a few e requests to ReSound but not response back from them. I read somewhere that they are testing a new battery that might last longer than the 2-3 days everyone says. Could be BS we’ll see.
thanks, frank

I have also been following your page with interest in wanting to compare the a Resound Linx and a Starkey Halo hearing aids. I have purchased and have been wearing a pair of the Resound Linx 9 for nearly three weeks. I have an iPhone 5s, and have also been trying the Resound TV (audio) Streamer 2 as well. I have no previous experience with hearing aids. My hearing loss is just below “normal” in the lower frequencys (500 to 2K) and then drops off precipitously to zero above 4K.

The interface with the iPhone is impressive, especially so when using the Resound TV streamer 2. Controls are offered for independently adjusting both the ambient (microphones on the aids) response as well as that streamed from the Resound TV unit. By muting the ambient, and then listening primarily to the streamed sound, watching a movie returns to being an incredible experience, simply marvelous. Besides the improved comprehension of dialog, the entire audio experience is so good, that I am likely to never to go a theatre again.

I did discover that it is important that your audiologist adjust the frequency response(s) for the Linx to best “fit” the sound delivery for each specific device it connects to, as well as the programs for “outdoor”, “restaurant”, etc. and boost the lower frequencys slightly in my case as well. I will say that the “music” quality streamed wirelessly from the iPhone is fair to good, but some phone calls are less than perfect. I have switched from the earphones and held the iPhone up to my ear instead on some calls. When listening to a streamed source, I.e. TV or iPhone, a phone call does take over automatically, and returns to the streamed source when done.

Battery life seems long enough (several days) and when purchased at Costco, etc they are acceptably cheap, and the aids easily fit behind the ear, and I wear glasses. I did experience the “hair” and “pillow” sound annoyance as mentioned by another wearer, but then it stopped by itself? I wonder if the hearing aids have a feedback learning system built into their program, because they are fine now. So, If I could get the hearing aid’s “speakers” to fit better and stay comfortably in my ear canals, I’d be very very pleased.

This is a very helpful discussion. For several years, I had the Lyric–inserted into the ear canal and then replaced every few months as the batteries wore out. Unfortunately, this required “subscribing” for the service, and–especially needing help in both ears–this became financially unworkable. Just too expensive. If I were rich, I’d probably still be using them. (An unexpected side-benefit: I could turn them off and completely block out all sound–the world’s most expensive ear plugs! I would often do this while traveling, always when sleeping, etc.)

I am planning to buy either the Linx or the Halo, hopefully a one-time expense. I often listen to pedants or audio books, and I assume that the quality of the sound is sufficient for me to hear those kinds of sources clearly. I have an iPone 5S, so that aspect is already covered. I look forward to reading new comments and will post my experiences in San Diego as I look for the right hearing aides for retirement!

Great blog. Like all the others leaving comments, I am trying to decide between the Linx and the Halo. I noticed that Starkey has a fantastic website showing the functionalities of the Halo. Unfortunately, I did not find anything similar on ReSound’s website. This makes comparisons much more difficult.

Anyhow, I had one other issue I wanted to raise with you. Last November 18th, an article was published in science daily.com describing a potential breakthrough in hearing aid technology, describing it as the “holy grail” of hearing technology. It described studies at Ohio State’s Speech Psychoacoustics Laboratory where new algorithms for hearing aids were tested on hearing-impaired persons and then their comprehension was compared to students with good hearing. The hearing-impaired students using the special hearing aids actually heard better in noisy environments than the students with good natural hearing. The article mentioned that Starkey was one of the companies with whom the researchers were working.

I got the impression, however, that the hearing aids which would ultimately be produced with this technology were still a few years off in the future. Could I be mistaken? Could the Halo (and Linx) already be the hearing aids using those new algorithms? If you have the ability to ask Starkey directly and get a clear answer, that would be fantastic.

Did you see this LiNX site? I have not fit the LiNX yet but have fit the Halo twice and love it, and the app is very easy to use. Only bad thing about the Halo so far is that if you don’t have an iPhone 5, you can only get streaming to one ear, not both at the same time. Another thing to consider is the Halo has no onboard controls, so you are kind of a slave to your iPhone. What I’ve heard about the LiNX so far is battery life is very poor- and that’s the only bad thing.

With regards to your question, I did read the article you referenced, and to me, until something is on the market it just sounds like hot air. I can’t tell you how many similar studies and breakthroughs I have read in the past only to see them fall short of what they claim, but I will definitely keep my ear to the street on this one. If there is any update worth mentioning, I will hear about it and I will do a post on it asap. I am keeping this on my radar and will keep you posted.

I really don’t think the Halo aids are using this algorithm, I am 99% sure their background noise algorithms have not changed in the Halos, and if it was a huge improvement over prior technology I definitely would have heard about it during training for the Halo, but there was no mention of it. Next time I talk to someone at Starkey though maybe I’ll run this article by them and see what they say.

Thanks for all the comments as I am scheduled for a first ever fitting latter this month. Been tested and putting off getting aids for years. I have an iPhone 4s and I’m ready to finally here the tv, esp person of interest, john always wishers when he talks!
My MD Audio person will let me try out each and I will post the end of the month but till then this site is very helpful , thanks.
frank

http://gnresoundblog.com
I just found this ReSound website blog by their mother company GN. There is a lot of good info here esp the pairing info of aids to iPhone. Other than hearing the tv I’m concerned that when I play/practice the piano I’ll have to take the hearing aids out. After reading all these posts I think maybe that the LiNX might just be the solution.

Update 5/6/14 – We have received our Halo Aids as of yesterday and have had some time to review them. Here are my initial thoughts relative to the aids. As far as hearing aid quality and technology goes I would rank them top notch (equal to any of the top of the line Starkey products such as the 3 series). We previously had a 3 series RIC and the sound quality and noise elimination are equal.

The Good:
1) Great noise cancellation, good sound quality
2) Great Battery Life
3) Small & Concealable
4) Good quality sound when streaming music or audio from Iphone
5) They are easy to pair and operate though the Iphone and the App, the app is simple to use and seems to work well
6) Independent adjustment of volume for left & right ears (You can adjust volume & change environments). Auto mute of Aid microphone when streaming, Automatic switching of environment settings with location or manually
7) The fine adjustments provided by Soundscape seem to make a noticeable difference and it is nice to have this level of control

The Bad:
1) Apple, Apple, Apple – While they do have innovative technology they seem to stop short of greatness lately! The Apple interface does not allow 2-way streaming as previously thought (You must hold the phone up to your mouth when talking on the phone) This is a huge disappointment to the many users who hopped that this would be a simple hands free solution for them. (This is a common problem with the Linx & Halo neither do this because of Apple Limitations)
2.) Apple did not provide the option for text tones, notification tones, & ring tones to be streamed to the aids. So you will probably still miss calls that you didn’t hear ring (This is such a simple thing they could have done or at least given the option, my truck can does it why can’t the aids!) (This is a common problem with the Linx & Halo neither do this because of Apple Limitations)
3. The Live listen environment is only intended to record conversations for listening at a later time, not to actually help you hear during a meeting or conference as advertised. The delay in sound between the actual sound and the streamed sound from the iphone makes it more difficult to hear than if you used the aids alone. This is somewhat improved if you mute the aids while streaming but still not worth using in my opinion. I imagine there might be some hearing losses that this feature might help with, but I think the majority of people will not benefit from this due to the delay.
4. No accessories for use with the TV Streaming

These were not quite what we hopped them to be and not quite what they were advertised to be. I believe most of the limitations are due to Apple and I have written them a letter stating my concerns if you wish to you can do so at http://www.apple.com/feedback. It did frustrate me that the people at Starkey did not seem to know exactly how the product worked and gave me wrong information. I had to buy the aids to find out how they really work and what they are capable of. I will mention that when I talked with Starkey Tech Support today they were much more knowledgeable that the people I spoke with previously and I wish I would have spoken with them before I purchased.

In all I think the Halo’s are a great aid, but there are some things that need to be address for them to be fantastic aids. Hopefully Apple will work with Starkey and ReSound to address these issues!

Thanks a lot for this very helpful review. I am getting ready to buy my first set of hearing aids and am tempted to go with the Halo. Interestingly my audiologist seemed to steer me towards the Starkey W110i rather than the Halo. However, I am an iphone 5s user and have it with me always. Not sure why I would make that choice.

One question that your review raised, the issues you raised sound like they are more software related – does that mean that as Apple improves the App you will get the benefit of better functionality. For example, they could add a TV streamer with the same aids. Or do I need to delay my purchase until the next generation comes out. Also, what is the general cycle time for new releases.

Unless you’re getting the Wi i110s for under $5k for a set, I don’t think that’s a good idea. If you don’t go for the Halo at least go for the 3 Series i110, it’s a better product and newer. Changes to the app from Apple alone won’t give the hearing aid more functionality, that’s something the manufacturer has to do. And no one really knows what Apple is going to do with this Made for iPhone program in the long run. I think that within 12 months we will have a TV streamer for the Halo, and probably sooner. Many people are asking for it.

Thanks Jeff. Just to clarify – if Halo does come out with a streamer (which is an important feature to me) will it work with the Halo hearing aids that I buy today – or will I have to purchase an upgraded set of Halo’s to use it?

Also, audiologist was suggesting the 3-series i110. Price was approx. $6400 per pair vs. $7400 for Halo. If the price is not an issue and I have a 5s, is there any reason I would choose the 3-series i110 over the Halo.

My sense was that the audiologist was not pleased with the level of control placed in the hands of the user – a bit of a turf battle – not sure, just a sense.

On July 1 I will be ordering new hearing aids and I am trying to decide between the Halo or Linx. I now have Phonak with a cross because my right side has very little hearing with not much voice recognition. I have bilateral Meniere’s. My good ear has had quite a bit of change in the 3 years since I got my hearing aids plus when my Meniere’s kicks in my hearing is drastically worse. I know I won’t have the cross if I change to the Halo or Linx but to be truthful at times I think the cross causes me to miss conversations especially in noisy situations. It is a major purchase though luckily I only need to purchase one. In reading all the reviews it appears the Linx has some major linking issues plus dropping the connection.

So my two questions I have right now are, does the Halo have this same linking problem? My next question is and this could be the deal breaker, does the Halo notify you of calls, texts, etc. I have seen some say it does and some say it doesn’t. No mater how loud my phone is set when out and about I miss many calls and text.

Any help you can give me to help make this decision would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff,
I am about to purchase my first set of hearing aids and I have found ZipHearing to be immensely useful. Thanks for the time you have put into it.
Based on research I have elected to go with the Halo 110 series. The audiologist associated with my dr (I have meniere’s) seemed very competent (20yrs with same practice), although she is not doing her first Halo fitting for two weeks (with a Starkey Rep alongside). She has done many Starkey Series 3 fittings. I was prepared to go with her at that point. However, in doing my research I contacted Starkey and the representative there steered me to a different audiologist whom she said had done many Halo fittings. I went to that appointment ( feeling a bit pressured by Starkey Rep – but OK) and this audiologist was also quite good – however, part of an audiologist practice, and not associated with a particular dr.

There is a question coming here – the first audiologist (the one associated with my dr) charges $7200. The one recommended by Starkey charges $6,000. So I guess the question is are there reasons that would justify paying the higher price to go with the one associated with my dr. Other than obviouse, what are the things I should consider in selecting an audiologist. Appreciate your help.

Personally, I think $7200 for a set of Halo 110s is too high, and I believe you will do better with someone who has worked with them before. If I were you I would go with the person Starkey recommends- they do that for a reason. The manufacturers know who the good dispensers are. As far as things to consider, I’d say just take your time before committing to a provider- get someone you know will stick with you and iron out your issues with the aids without losing patience. If I were you I’d go into the appointment with the results from your previous tests and just sort of interview the provider to make sure they are a good fit for you and that your personalities align, as this will be a looong relationship. Best of luck and please come back and let us know how the fitting goes!

Tried to order a trial pair but audio’s masters want up front deposit of $3500 to order plus $400 if they do not work for me. Deposit on delivery does not bother me but for an order where the final price is not know does. .They do not know the price of the Halos, the warranty or more user questions. Thinking another provider is in order but there are not many here. Are my customer service expectations unreasonable?

I don’t think your requests are unreasonable at all. Are you in the US? Call me tomorrow at the number at the top of this site. I’ll hook you up with one of our local network providers who will fit you with the Halos at the price shown on our site (check the pricelist), and with a totally risk free trial period. Talk to you soon-

Like everyone here I’ve been waiting for MFi’s to hit the market before purchasing new hearing aids. These comments are so helpful, thanks a million for your contributions!

Hopefully more and more new users will add their impressions but based on what I’m reading I think I will pass on the first iterations.

The fact they are not completely hands-free is a turn-off.

Also, delays in call connectivity or poor connectivity do not provide me with the confidence I’d need to purchase.

In addition, if the fidelity for music-streaming is not on a par with headphones it seems there is even less of an incentive to trial.

3 day battery changes for the LiNX seems unfortunate, for somebody with a binaural loss that’s four changes a week. This might not be a big deal for some people but I’d always feel on alert that a battery change is coming up and hoping it’s not required at an inconvenient time (like when I’m out for five hours riding my bike in a group and would have to stop to change a battery).

Of course, everybody is trying to find the right balance for their personal needs. What I really want to achieve with my new aids (aside from hearing as well as I can) is to be able to interact with my phone without the need to take my hearing aids out all the time. Currently I remove my hearing aids to answer calls as it’s the only effective way to achieve ‘room-off’ to concentrate on the conversation. I also have to remove my hearing aids to listen to music over headphones, but this means other people can’t interact with me until I put my hearing aids back in as I can’t hear without them. It’s a lot of fiddling with hearing aids etc.

As RIC is not my preference for various reasons I do not see enough incentive to make the leap to MFi’s. Thus, I’m likely to upgrade to Widex Dream 440s with the new Uni-Dex accessory.

The Uni-Dex appears to solve the problem of why I have never used intermediary devices. It’s not ugly and it’s not clunky that it takes up space in my pockets.

Assuming the Uni-Dex’s fidelity is good (I have yet to trial), this seems to be a genuine hands-free hearing-aid to phone experience. What’s more it’s not iPhone 5 specific!

I appreciate this solution will not provide me with the same control as MFi’s, something new users seem to really like. Also, I will not get the benefit of some of the other cool features, however, I will achieve a reasonable hands-free experience with any audio device that has a headphone jack.

I’m optimistic that the second iterations will be much more compelling, especially if the range is broadened beyond RIC.

Thanks for helping me with my decision, I just thought I’d share why I won’t make the leap to MFi’s just yet.

Well here is my 12th day posting on Linx 9 and iPhone 5c. As I’ve said before the aids are great. My hearing is greatly improved, just ask my wife.
Now for the big downer and the reason I agreed to get HA’s in the first place. The bluetooth interface with the iPhone stinks, I have a lot of other words for this but not on this blog. First, the connection drops and drops and drops and then works in one ear then the other then back to the dropping. All this and I’m only trying to stream from my phones iTunes! What I also need but have no more patient is to stream the smart TV. (the phone is on me all the time so it’s not a distant problem)
I’ve called Resound and got talked down to since I’m a consumer. (Resound kept stating that it’s a battery issue and that I should change them which I’ve done every few hours!!!!)
I have been on the phone with Apple, I now have a permanent case number. They suggest I test other bluetooth items and make sure it’s not a phone issue.
So I went to my local iMac store. I walked in and asked if we can test the bluetooth to see if it’s the problem. I connected with every piece of equipment in the store: speakers, keyboards, other iPhones and a couple of things I have no idea what they do. The 5c connected to every item within 5-10 seconds. (the iPhone does not connect bluetooth to iMacs. The Apple tech told me this and I confirmed it in the store. It will pair but will not connect)

One more observation as stated by others: When I am able to stream, the sound repro is crap, nothing like ear buds. This is a very big deal for me.
I have 30 days to go before I get to spend another 45 days with the Starkey Halo then I will make my decision. But if the Halo is like the Linx I guess I will live with the Linx.
Very, very disappointed.
frank

I tested both halo and Linx , my streaming issues were resolved after understanding I had too specially follow a process that included 2 minute wait time after pairing the aids before touching the phone again. I now seldom loose the sync unless the phone is more than 4 feet away. Still very buggy on the re sync after aids power up. I had similar issues with halo so hoping iOS 8 will have improvements. I stayed with the Linx in the end

Jeff
Love this blog and it has helped me in my endeavor. I purchased my starkey Halo’s about 1 month ago. Resterants drive me crazy along with noisey places but I am happy over all. The 5s turns into a microphone and I place next to tv speaker. Now my wife asks me to turn up the loudness! Using the app is very easy and the GPS feature to remember my settings for different places is awesome. Soon as I walk in to one of my saved locations it automatically adjusts. Music streaming is great. I listen to podcasts while driving. I have over 1000 songs on iPhone so I canceled xm radio and use my stereo hearing aids instead. Sound is fair but not as good as good ear buds but much more convenient. It has helped me incredibly.
Thanks for this blog it helped me feel more comfortable with my choice.

I have had all of the problems mentioned with the Resound and I am on pair three.
I am going to try the Starkey now.
I have to say that the Linx Rep has been terrific and lets me call his cell as much as I need to, however, the whole process is getting to be too time consuming since there are constant issues. My guess is that the new technology has not been perfected yet, but the change of brands should settle that issue. After four months I am quite familiar with the Resound so I expect that I will have a very quick opinion once i have the Starkey.

I think that these manufacturers should agree to give you their updates as soon as they have them. I don’t want to be stuck for ten years with the first trial of evolving but not perfected technology. Maybe the companies were just to anxious to get these to market but so far the experience has been a major pain.

Please post what your findings are after the Halo trial. I’m still on my 60 day trail period and had demo’d both Linx and halo back to back. My findings were better sound quality with the resounds. I didn’t have another adjustment with the halos but both used the same hearing test to program the initial aids, the resounds worked much better with that one setting. Mine pair well with the annoying repairing sometimes needed after aids power down . My biggest frustration so far is the delay when answering incoming calls. Overall I found better streaming with them.

Just coming up on 3 weeks with the Linx. On day 3 I talked to a tech person at Resound and they told me that I needed to make sure the batteries were full to make the linx bluetooth work. Well now at 3 weeks I think she was right. Also, resetting the iPhone once / twice a day helps too. What works great is linx as HA. Never an issue there. It’s the interface that s….. I will have them for a total of 45 days then I get to spend time with the Halo. Like you I should know very quickly if there are any interface/bluetooth problems like the linx. My Dr of A told me that Skarkey updates their software whenever it needs it. She did not know but will find out if resound does / does not. I don’t want to get stuck without software updates since these Linx are first gen and not proven.
frank

I’ve heard that Starkey is working on a Halo model with rechargeable batteries so that the hearing aids can be fully recharged over night as most other rechargeable battery devices. If so, this should improve the sound quality with better charged aids. This might reduce the iPhone battery drain as well. This model may be available this October, however, most likely will be delayed until April 2015. Anyone else know about this? Also, Costco is expected to have ReSound LINX available in April 2015 as well. This is the agreement ReSound has with Costco to wait one year from its initial release in April 2014 to other providers. If so, Costco will probably have the best price for ReSound LINX.

Thanks for a great page with a great original post as well as discussion.

From the original post:
” First all, streaming calls from your smart phone is not a new concept, but streaming them directly to your iPhone without using an intermediary device is a new concept.”

Guess you mean streaming directly to your hearing aid from your iPhone and not to your iPhone.

As pointed out in the discussion, there is yet no support for speech streamd two ways, only commands (short data) are sent both ways, hence the SurfLink Mobile-3 Series functionality of JustTalk is not supported by Apple (iOS). Would have been great to see this feature in Halo. Maybe Apple will fix that in a future iOS release?!

Looking forward to hear more about the reviews from everyone testing the two different products.

At almost 1 month with the Linx my Dr Aud tested me without HA’s and with the Linx. Since these are my first experience with any HA’s I was looking forward to good results since my hearing loss is mild. Well I failed or should I say the Linx failed. Only with a lot of background noise was there any improvement and not that much. Both of us were disappointed. So, Monday I get to spend 45 days with the Halo’s.
I was counting on a least an improvement on hearing, forget the pairing to the iPhone.
Will post after a few weeks with the Halo’s.
frank

Hello Frank,
I haven’t tried the LiNX but am looking into them. I’ve spent almost 4 weeks with the Starkey Halo’s and my I phone. Found some good features with them but thinking of staying with my First Choice $500 (ea.)Hearing Amps if ReSound’s LiNX are no better than Starkey’s. Would appreciate your update after your 6/26/14 entry to which I am replying.
Thanks, Dick

Hi Dick. Check out my comments in Most important hearing aid features July 3rd. This will bring you up to date on where I’m at.
So today is July 15 and from the 3rd not much to report except the Starkey reply to my issues of not staying paired. Here is what they came back with:
“The TruLink app relies on the iPhone maintaining a solid Bluetooth connection between itself and the hearing aids. What we have found to typically be the root cause for the Trulink App appearing not to find the hearing aids, resulting in a spinning icon, is that the Bluetooth connection is not in place. Unfortunately the reason for the Bluetooth connection issues are not visible to us – these are under iPhone control.” NS!
So, it seems like lets blame the iPhone for connectivity issues. Ug, I’m not happy with either Linx / Halo. So what I’m waiting for is my 30 day test with the Halo to see if my hearing improved which it did not with the Linx.
frank

I’ve been a hearing aid user for about 6 years, previously using good ole’ Widex aids that were flawless – but, also had no bells and whistles to mess with (i.e., not even volume controls).
I’ve now been trying the Starkey Halo aids, both the high and low end devices for comparison. I was super excited about the Bluetooth feature, BUT have had many issues with them over the past month (going with the high end unit didn’t change my experience).
FIRST, the connection to my Iphone has been sporadic at best… when it’s connected and I can experience a phone call through my aids, it is amazing. I’m hearing people clearly that I normally have issue with. But, from call to call, I’m never sure if it’s going to link up with the devices, and if the link is going to last. It’s common that I have to change from the aids to hearing a direct conversation with the phone at my ear.
Also, the quality of listening to music is NOT good… I find it unclear at times, and a constant static sound in the background when streaming.
When I’m scrolling through FB on my phone, and videos come on (just in passing, without audio) my aids cut in and out. Sometimes they cut in/out “just cuz”, even during normal conversations. I’ll look at the TruLink app and one ear is just unlinked to the phone. Then it miraculously comes back.
On a good note, the modes are great – putting it in restaurant mode definitely blocks out the background noise, works great for fan noise as well.
At this point, I won’t be buying these devices… for nearly $6000, they are just too inconsistent. When they work, they’re wonderful, but throughout the day I don’t trust they’re going to be “on” when I need them. I can’t afford to be a guinea pig for Starkey.

Still on my Halo trial and some of what I learned is that when the bluetooth works it works fine, mute, volume control and battery levels. But it doesn’t work consistently. Just like what you are experiencing I am too, along with others. What drives me crazy is that if I shut down the iPhone and start all over things are fine until the connection is broken because I’ve walked away from the iPhone. And yes, for no reason the left will cut out on the app along with screeching and loud static listening to iTunes. Not good. As for hearing aids, the Halo beats the Linx hands down, including battery life. The best I got with the linx was 4 days, most of the time it was 3. These Halo’s can go 8 to 10 days before the low battery waring starts. Maybe they’re lasting because the app goes down so often that it conserves power 🙂 But my real test will be the checking of my hearing on 8/7. You should also check out the Apple Discussion blogs on hearing aids especially these Linx and Halo’s: We are not the only ones having issues. What I find interesting is that most of the Starkey reps think that this problem is very small, really??
frank

Just past 30 days with Halo and my Dr Aud decided to get me a new pair. You should check out the Apple discussion on these issues:https://discussions.apple.com/message/26388800?ac_cid=tw123456#26388800
I now believe that all the streaming, screeching and no connectivity is all a HA issue not iPhone / bluetooth / interference from anything. Why they don’t just come out and tell us is beyond me or maybe it’s the follow the money thing. I posted this on the Apple site, it’s Starkey responding back to me:
Thank you for your email. Yes, we have seen on a few instances where TruLink is unable to recognize the presence of the hearing aids and the native iOS controls can. A restart of the iPhone corrects this problem. Starkey has been investigating this and we have shared this issue with Apple who is aware and is investigating as well.

The iOS handles the connection to hearing aids and TruLink can only connect to control the devices if iOS tells it there are hearing aids connected to the iPhone. We are seeing in these instances, that the APP is not always accurately being reported this message.
What bothers me most is the comment “…a few instances…” .
frank

I set my sound space to restuaunts off our loop and as I travel by the restuaunts my starkey halos change to my restuaunts setting. Very annoying. I had to reset and not use. I am also having some connectivity issues. My Bluetooth disconnects and can’t hear in my aides. I have to reconnect. These are my first ever hearing aides and still getting used to them. I definitely don’t know how I did without them. Much improved quality of life. Do need to get some adjustments. I also was disappointed they do not Bluetooth to my TV.

The hearing aids are good but they are my second brand and i have quit using the bluetooth. I hear better with the phone in my ear. I had resound before and they were totally unreliable. The Starkey is reliable but I don’t hear well enough with the bluetooth. I am going in for one more adjustment.
I still use subtitles…. the best of all and free.

Hi all. Here is my follow-up for the Halo’s. As I got to 8/7 for my big test my Dr Aud decided to send them back for a new pair! The screeching from streaming my music was becoming intolerable. What I found out was if I changed the sound from the HA to the iPhone everything was fine. So the problem was the HA’s.
I have a loner pair and no more screeching, the new ones should be here in a week/2.
However, the dropping is still a major problem. This morning was typical: Wake, turn on the iPhone, take the airplane mode off, this turns on the wifi and bluetooth, close the HA battery doors, swipe up and start the music, take the walk, 3 miles. Every 2 minutes or so the music stops. Swipe up and no hearing aids seen. Shut the bluetooth, turn it on, start the music: Over and over. Finally, I shut the iPhone down, and start over.
Music all the way home and I stay connected until I walk out of range without the iPhone, then we start all over again.
Good news is that my hearing is unbelievable. I hear things that I’ve haven’t heard in, well maybe forever. These Halo’s are far superior to the Linx in this respect.
The Apple discussions forum prove this out.
They, the manufacturers, have to solve this connection problem to have great HA’s.
frank

Interesting and thanks for the feedback. My results found the resound Link much better with the exception of battery life which is only a couple days. I wonder if I had faulty halo or if they have improved software

Have you done a test to see what the Linx’ battery life is if you DON’T use it with an iPhone or other bluetooth device? I’ve been told that the auditory benefits of the Linx over prior models is considerable. If I just wanted to use them as better hearing aids, without taking advantage of the new bluetooth features, I’m trying to figure out how much battery life I’d get. I presently get about 7 days with Resound’s Alera. Does anyone know the answer to that?

Also, do you have the top of the line Linx 9, or the Linx 7. I understand the difference is that the 9 has connectivity (and related auto adjustments) between the two hearing aids whereas the 7 doesn’t. That might also significantly affect battery life.

PS: I was also told that batteries last considerably longer if, after you first remove the peel-off plastic backing, you wait about 5 minutes before putting them in your hearing aid. My audiologist told me that this info came from Resound.

All batteries last longer if you remove the backing.
My Linx used to last three days. The Starkey last 6 or seven.
Hearing is the same…maybe Starkey is a bit better.
I don’t know which one that i had….. I will ask.
I am also having issues with the bluetooth with the Starkey.
This morning when I went for a walk I couldn’t get them both to work..
i just think that the technology is not perfected.

Posted by Rob on 08/15/2014 at 10:22 am | |

I haven’t tried to test battery life without iPhone . I demod the halo then the Linz with the same settings. My loss is minor and mostly high frequency. For me the lynx was much better natural sound, way better streaming but still bugy. So I’m always surprised to hear others foud the halo better. I feel they both were lacking in streaming and restaurant settings did not give me what I needed. Really considered waiting

I am happy to report that Starkey has gotten it right. It has outpaced ReSound in its reliability, ease and intuitive operation. I tried ReSound for about a month and found it a bit wobbly with connection issues, and with signal quality (dropouts mostly). I was never sure it was going to connect to my streaming source (iPhone). Often I had to (figuratively) unplug/plug/unplug to get it right. ReSound’s app had a base-treble controls, but they could not be saved.

The Starkey seizes the iPhone signal right away; no questions asked (literally). You have to keep the iPhone handy at all times if you wish to have control of all aspects, but who doesn’t keep their iPhone at hand anymore? To terminate streaming, just turn off the stream. It allows virtual hands-free automobile operation, using the iPhone’s microphone and the Halos in concert for phone calls. And Siri operations. If you need to have a conversation while streaming, just turn the phone’s volume control down (and unmute if you’ve muted the mics).

The environmental customizations are quite clever, with bass and treble, as well as intensity, settings for each, available. The option to assign each customized setting to a GPS locator is helpful; that means you can save a personal setting with a custom name but you don’t have to assign it a location if you don’t want to. And you might NOT want to. Because Apple’s geofencing is quite broad, if you assign a setting to a particular place, e.g. a restaurant, you Halos will switch even when you DRIVE PAST that restaurant, which can result in unexpected surprises. I’ve limited the geo-location feature only to a few particular places, like my workplace.

Note: You can assign a geo location, but turn off the auto-switch. So there is a compromise.

Your provider can pre-load up to four built-in presets. Besides “Normal”, I’m using “Restaurant”, “Meeting” and “Car”. The latter can be activated in your preferences with an “auto-switch”, when your iPhone detects you are traveling at a certain mph rate. Another preference setting to be aware of is “auto-mute” when streaming starts. You might want to play with this a little. “Car” tones down the rumblings of a/c and the rubber tracking the road.

All this said, I do look forward to Starkey/Apple developing a transmitter for use when watching TV. My previous hearing aids of choice, Oticon, had a great TV streaming system, which I have turned to when I desire more clarity or private listening while TV watching.

I would probably have remained with my Oticons; but they stream in mono. Booooo

Ok Jeff, here are my observations about the Halo hearing aids.
I now have my forever HA’s, at least the money, 7 grand, is out of my pocket, and will now put my 2 cents into what I’ve discovered over the last 5 months.
First, I see that ReSound has released more models with increased battery capacity but no mention of BT connectivity fixes. Thanks ReSound but I’ll keep my Halo’s.
As I’ve said before in this blog my hearing is superior with the Halo’s. My hearing loss is at the higher frequency so now I can have conversations and understand most everyone. The hearing of clocks, high pitches on my piano, creaks in the flooring and my pooch’s nails on the tile floor when she walks is just amazing, thank you Starkey!
BUT, and this is a big one, I would have never started this if it were not for the hype in the beginning of the year with the ReSound Linx announcement about their pairing with the iPhone. I was just not ready for HA’s, my wife was, but not me. That would have been a mistake now that I hear almost every sound. But as someone said before, “your mileage may vary” or “we were sold a faulty bill of goods”.
The connectivity issues are the down side and the upside of the pricing.
There are mornings, I walk 4 to 5 miles per day, and listen to Pandora for the whole walk and I’m in heaven. Then there are morning walks where I want to throw these HA’s in the lake. Frustrating to say the least.
My startup routine is the same so why do these HA’s act different on different days? No need to answer since even Starkey doesn’t know.
What I do know is that I can always shut the iPhone down and start over and then most times the connection is fine. Most, but not always. Like this morning after the music died, I shut down, powered up and hit Pandora and the screeching in the HA’s was the pits. I swiped up and sent the music to the iPhone speakers for a few seconds then back to the HA’s. Then they worked fine. Now why do you suppose this happens? I was out on the Apple Halo discussion boards today and saw this comment:
“What I wonder is why any of these companies can’t seem to make a BT connection work. BT isn’t a new tech any longer. I also wonder why we users always have to give up some feature in our hearing aids.” I guess you get my point about connectivity: The big BUT.
I’ll have to live with the issues to get the great hearing. I just hope Starkey evolves their HA’s with improved connectivity.
Frank

Hi Frank , nice write up. Had to chuckle on the better half pushing the aids as the same happened with me. Its interesting that we had such different results in the halo vs redound compare. Thinking that I either had a bad halo or you a bad resound as for our results varied much. I found the resound the clear winner except for battery life. Sound quality and streaming were better on resound during my back to back testing. Streaming took longer to connect but was constantly better with resound. Both had issues with the streaming connectivity that I’m hoping proves with the new iPhone and software. I would be interested in trying starkey again to compare, but the halos I had were dogs and I would not have purchased them from overall comparison. Both ha’s failed to live up to the hype no background noise filtering . I recomend all to try both and shop for price. Don’t even consider to pay anywhere near list value, it’s a scam

I have a lifelong profound loss that has gotten steadily worse over the past few years. I was in high school (1975) before there were aids that had any positive effect. I’ve had a countless number of styles over the years. Before the digital age they really were little more then amplifiers, doing very little to help my speech recognition, which is now under 40% unaided. I Just got halos with custom ear molds last week. I was wearing Wiis using surf link. I immediately noticed a clarity in speech and my own voice with the halos that I have never experienced in my life. I could stream phone calls with the surf link, but it was still a struggle to understand what being said. Now with the halos I mute while streaming, the combined results of the more sophisticated programming coupled with the muted background noise, allows me to have a “normal” phone conversation. I was on the phone with a friend yesterday for an hour, I only had to ask her to repeat once, and I actually heard everything she was saying. Typically I have to ask people to repeat things multiple times and still only catch less then half of what is being said. Did my normal weekend errands I have the app set to switch automatically to car mode, which is does seamlessly and made conversation with my husband while on the highway possible. I created a memory for “big box retail” rather then have a geo tag for every store I frequent, I saved one and will manually switch when I go into the others, so I don’t use all of the presets for those environments. For me these are the most remarkable aids I have ever had.
Because I have had loss since I was 3 or 4 years old, I have no recollection of normal hearing, which I think makes me more appreciative and less critical of any deficiencies in sound quality vs. someone that had normal hearing and then experienced a loss.
I am wondering if some of the people having issues with the aids being lost have checked the trulink app settings. I thought my connection was being lost, but realized it was the aids muting because I had turned on automatic mute when streaming audio. Some functions on the phone, like Siri muted the aids even when there was no audio. I turned that feature off until I am actually on a call or watching a video. Small nuisance for the rewards.
Does anyone know when trulink will be compatible with the iPhone 6? I’m in serious need a new phone, as I have no battery life on the current one.

PAIRED STABLE AND HAPPY – iPHONE6
I find the native “triple click” home button accessibilty menu is best to use and very stable once paired. I have iPhone 6 w/iOS 8. Trulink IS BUGGY.

For those who need a first time pair… Try deleting trulink app and reinstall. Then reboot phone. Then pair. Still trouble? Recycle BT on/off and open close HA battery door. Be patient. After 20 minutes. I had success and never turned back! Once devise is recognized just use apple “triple click” program. Helps to reboot phone each morning to improve stability with TruLink. This HA is just AWESOME!!!!!

Received this info on Halos from my audiologist and confirmed with Starkey:

With the release of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, we have embarked on rigorous testing for hardware related issues. Preliminary indicators are finding that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus should not be used. Connection between iPhone 6, 6 Plus and hearing aids is not robust and users will experience frequent and inconsistent connectivity issues.

iPhone 5s, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5 remain compatible and are the recommended phone for Halo users. We strongly recommend patients do not update to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus until the issue is resolved.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will be working diligently to find a solution.

Since I have a 4s, was looking forward to getting a 6 but will wait until the bugs are worked out.

Got my first HA/ HJalo on 9/24/14 and my audiologist told me the issues with IOS8. I have an Apple 4S and had not gotten around to downloading the new software – thankfully. So far I am very pleased with the Halo. Streamiing to my Iphone has worked perfectly. And like many of you am amazed at what i hear know – good news/bad news. My only disappointment to date is that I am not able to hear the TV as well as I had hoped. I miss dialogue that is spoken in low voice. Am still playing with the settings to see if I can make that better. I am interested in on of the postings that discussed using 5S and placing it by the TV to get better sound quality. Has anyone else tried that?

I have not been able to verify whether or not you need the i phone to be activated to use them with the hearing aids? OR, can you just turn on the i phone and use them with the hearing aids? Also, what made these hearing aids sound attractive in the beginning for me was u could supposedly tune out the background noise…. I have not read that anyone can really do that???? Are they not helpful for that? Thanks for your comments…

you don’t need to activate the iOS unit (iPhone, iPad & iPod) in any special way. What you have to do is to pair your hearing aids and your iOS unit; this is normally done under Settings->General->Accessibility->Hearing aids (under header Hearing).

Activate Bluetooth and let your iOS unit find your hearing aids. You might have to open and close the battery compartment on your hearing aids. When the iOS unit found your hearing aids you just need to click the name and you’ll get a pairing request. Accept it and you are good to go.

All hearing aids of today have more or less advanced algorithms/functions for noise reduction. The best is if you have the possibiltiy to test the hearing aids you are interested in, in the environments you find it hard to hear in. A combination of a good noise reduction algorithm and a good thought through directonal microphone strategy will help you a lot compared to be without these functions. Then you also need to have reasonabl expecations, i.e. hearing aids can’t do miracles, although some people just feel they are doing that.

I am currently trialing Resound Lynx hearing aids after have used Rexton/Siemens Cobalt for a number of years. My audiolog has offered me a Starkey Halo trial. I have mild hearing loss.

I like the Lynx control through the iPhone despite the periodic pairing disconnections and re-connection difficulties.

I had hoped that the Lynx would be good for streaming music from the iPhone to the lynx earphones. It handles stereo music but provides low quality compared to listening to same music from decent speakers with lynx using Music program or to listening with good over-the-ear headphones and no lynx. I think that the problem is that iPhone streams over the A2DP stereo channel using a low-complexity and low quality codec ( and perhaps that is all the lynx can receive). I have tried listening to 256 kbps mp3 coded music streamed by Wifi to the iPhone and form there to the lynx and listening to FLAC 320 kbps codec on the iPhone.

Is there any more information on this issue? Can anything be done on the iPHone to improve streamed music quality?

Hi, from what I know the Made for iPhone hearing aids are not using the full Bluetooth protocol, but the Bluetooth Low energy (BTLE) which is an addition to the Bluetooth 4.0, hence I doubt BTLE supports the A2DP profile.

Also you need to take into account the limited bandwidht of the heaing aids receiver, i.e. you can’t really compare them to decent speakers nor over-the-headphones due to the sinze of the elements in those.

I guss you are referring to the GN Resound LiNX and not the much older technology Lynx.

Take your chance to test the Halo, espcially with the possibility to test the SoundSpace in a streaming memory.

I am not aware of any updates that are coming, but I think it would be unusual if there was not an update to the Halos within 2015. Having said that, I don’t know that the update would be worth waiting for- often times the improvements are marginal within a single calendar year. I’ll post a follow-up comment if I hear anything.

This is an excellent site and I appreciate the intelligent discussion.

I have mild high frequency loss in both ears and have just purchased a pair of i110 Halos because I was so impressed with the technology. I am in my third day with them and have noticed a significant issue that I am very surprised no one else has mentioned. The issue is with sustained tones, such as music or the seatbelt chime in the car, etc. I get a wavering intensity effect that sounds as if I am singing into a fan. As an engineer, my impression is that there is a sampling rate of about 30 Hz or less that only is noticeable with sustained tones. I have tested this with a sine wave tone generator and the issue is very definite across the hearing spectrum.

Questions: Has anyone else noticed this issue? Is there a sampling rate setting that my audiologist could adjust? Any other ideas?

I’ve noticed my HA seems to adjust itself to dominate noises/sudden background sounds. It’s as if the HA is switching from omnidirectional to unidirectional as it attempts to optimize what you are hearing via the two mics. Is there a program within the HA that modulates sounds (like a music compressor) causing these audible adjustments when a sweeper is running, garbage disposal, music etc…? That’s what I’m thinking.

This is a follow up to my November 7 question. After a couple of more days of information, I notice that the grandkids’ voices are very much subject to this problem (wavering intensity) as they are high pitched and often sustained. Actually, “wavering” is not the right word. The sound is chopped at a very regular frequency that I estimate to be 30 Hz or less.

I would also re-frame my opinion about the cause. I doubt it is sampling rate, which would be on the input processing side. I think it is more related to output “duty cycle” which would be aimed at reducing power consumption.

So, now my questions are: Has anyone else noticed this issue? is there a power setting that my audiologist could adjust? Any other ideas?

Walter:
I notice my HA makes “adjustments” causing a “wave” or change how I hear when turning on vacuum, disposal, kids, music. It’s like the HA is switching/re-blending the two mic’s to address the louder noise. I assume the HA has a program that optimizes your environment to improve speech clarity. It’s like it goes from omnidirectional to unidirectional.

Thanks for the comments. I got hold of Starkey Tech Support this afternoon and she indicated that there is an audiologist-controlled sensitivity adjustment for the Feedback Control. She thinks that might do it. That idea does make sense to me. I have an appointment in two weeks to try the theory.

Thanks to all the comments that were on this blog covering the pass several months. I have been putting off getting hearing aids for a long time and have decided that it is now time. I received info in the mail from a provider and made an appointment to see what was available. After having my ears invaded by a camera that verified I had wax balls the size of Wilson (Castaway) The provider was able to remove that problem and I had a test that verified I had mostly high frequency hearing loss. The provider had a Starkey rep that day that talked to me at length about my hearing problems. He made the I110 sound like the best thing since sliced bread. I tried a set on and could not believe how great every sound was under different conditions He then was telling me about all the other great things that they did with out demonstrating any of it. I was sold and ready to buy even at what I thought was a very high price. Like always I like to get as much info before I buy something that should last a life time. Thanks to all of the problems that has been discussed in this blog I am glad I waited. If I wanted to get a very good set of aids without all the bells and whistles, which one would you guys recommend.

Thanks for your feedback.. The 110 has been mentioned to me also. I will look at both. My provider talked a Starkey Rep. He confirmed that there are still some issues with the Iphone 5 OS8. I went by ATT to see if it was possible to reload my Iphone 5s with the OS5 since there appears that system works very well with the HALO. The ATT rep said it could not be done. I sure like the HALO but not with the bugs.

First of all, I greatly appreciate this site and all of the amazingly helpful posts that Jeff and all of the readers are making. I am getting ready to upgrade my 8 year old Phank’s, and will almost certainly be focusing on the LiNx.

One thing I wanted to mentioned to everyone that is having streaming issues with third-party apps like Pandora, and other non-Apple apps, is that each app developer is responsible for implementing the the use of the AirPlay/Bluetooth streaming capabilities of the iOS device. So, even if Apple gets everything right with their own apps and the iOS itself, the experience can be blown up by a developer that has not taken the time to properly test/debug their apps. I see this kind of thing a lot right now in my car. Some apps do really well with the Bluetooth streaming, and some are very buggy and cutout a lot. I have personally had problems with Pandora and Spotify with audio cutouts, and but do not experience those issues with other apps or the builtin Apple apps.

The same thing holds true with the apps that the HA companies create. Apple has the tools, but the developers have to implement them correctly, so some of the issues mentioned here may very well be related to the fact that GN and Starkey are HA companies first, and not app developers.

Just wanted to make sure everyone understands how that part of the puzzle works. 🙂

I have what they call a cookie bit hearing loss, loss of mid-tones. Highs and Lows are fine. Does anyone know how these HAs are working with that type of loss?

When I starting looking at hearing aids over 10 years ago I had a lot of issues with HAs, I could hear everything I already heard even louder but had issues with the mid-tones still. I finally ended up at Georgetown Medical Audiology Department where they were able to find and program the right HAs for me. But I’m now ready for newer technology.

Many of you talk about being able to try both HAs, that an issue I’ve felt I’ve had. I almost feel like the audiologist work for the hearing aid company and only offer the hearing aid company’s brand. I appreciate your posts as I will do more research on the audiologist as well.

The Halo is particularly well-suited to your type of hearing loss, as via Trulink it gives you a ton of control over how things sound. In addition, the Halo is a great open-fit hearing aid in general which is usually what works best for your type of loss, and Starkey has the best feedback cancellation technology in the industry. Halo is a solid choice.

I just recently got Halos, my first hearing aids for mild hearing loss. Am still figuring out how to deal with the iphone interface, though I seem to have adapted to the hearing aids pretty well. These posts are really great, and very useful!

I’m noticing pretty poor sound quality when listening to Pandora, and also interference with the sound. It’s not that it cuts out, as some folks have reported. It’s hard to describe, but it’s as if I’m listening to an old, worn-out record. Has anyone else noticed this?

I’m on my 9th month and I can’t agree more: the sound stinks. Does not matter whether its Pandora, iTunes or your own files the sound just isn’t there. However if I plug in my ear pods and remove my HA’s then I get the full sound. So the conclusion is that for Halo and Linx the technology to bring good sound music using bluetooth is not there yet. I’ve been using my land line phone for long important calls for the same reasons: the BT quality is just not there.
frank

Well, Frank, I’m sorry you’re having the same problem, but it does validate my experience. What I can’t understand is why others say the quality of music through the Halos is good. Can anyone explain what might account for these very different reports?

I remember Frank’s contributions from the past. I’m no AuD but I think it’s possible the HA may need to be adjusted by the AuD for better sound quality? I remember someone also contributed once talking about the bluetooth stack and how different app developers use different code for each app so sound quality will vary depending on which app.
From my experience the different code in the different apps means little. If you connect your iPhone to any other sounds source like a Bose Bluetooth speaker for example the sound quality is fine. Older songs or material that was recorded using analog equipment may sound faint but if you crank the volume enough it sounds fine.
I suspect the low power bluetooth that Apple uses that makes Made for Apple hearing aids possible is to blame. Unfortunately this won’t be easily overcome because the tradeoff to use Bluetooth directly with the hearing aids has to be power, otherwise it would have been done a long time ago. I still use Oticon’s streamer with my Oticon HA and the sound is amazing. This is because though the streamer takes the full burden for the power consumption and can produce much better streaming as a result.
I have been waiting to buy or at least check out the Halo or Linx for this very reason. I do think the technology may improve but I’m not sure how long it will take and I am beginning to think these are mainly a triumph for their marketing and sales departments and no so much for us consumers. Let’s see what this year brings!

Hi Matt. Funny, I was listening to iTunes this morning walking and a commercial came on, very low volume which is fine with me. I guess commercials just started. Anyway, when the music resumed the sound was better, not best, but better. I will try the volume and let everyone know what happens in a few days.